Computerized Adaptive Testing

Howard Wainer, Neil J. Dorans, Ronald Flaugher, Bert F. Green, Robert J. Mislevy

"The first edition of this primer...earned the reputation as the best available introduction to CAT, and for good reason. The authors...are among the leaders of the field and have a thorough experience in the practical development of CAT. Their writing is clear and lucid and the different parts of the book are nicely coordinated. The topics are a good mix of practical consideration (e.g., demands on the visual display of items) and psychometric theory (e.g., item response theory [IRT], principles for item selection and proficiency estimation [scoring])....the present edition contains some important additions to the first edition..."—Quality of Life Research"It has assembled the necessary theoretical, statistical, and practical foundations not provided in any other single resource, and it will enable language testers to evaluate the extent to which CATs are appropriate for the kinds of inferences and purposes we need to address in language assessment."—Language Learning & TechnologyPraise for the first edition..."...it is the first text concerning adaptive testing that is actually aimed at the nontechnical audience and, as such, makes a substantial contribution to the field."—Contemporary Psychology"The book is true to its title as a primer in the sense that little previous knowledge on CAT is necessary. Also, all necessary psychometric concepts are introduced and explained. The chapters on psychometrics provide very readable and fairly thorough introductions to the core concepts....I recommend this Primer on CAT as the best place to start on this endeavour."—Quality of Life ResearchPraise for the first edition..."The text provides an excellent coverage of computerized adaptive testing (CAT) by some of the foremost authorities today. The references and the GCAT example used throughout the book afford the reader a better understanding of the technical issues surrounding the creation and use of CAT."—Randall E. SchumackerEducational and Psychological Measurement

• Contents: C.V. Bunderson, Foreword to the First Edition. D.H. Gitomer, Foreword to the Second Edition. H. Wainer, Preface to the First Edition. H. Wainer, Preface to the Second Edition. H. Wainer, Introduction and History. B.F. Green, System Design and Operation. R. Flaugher, Item Pools. H. Wainer, R.J. Mislevy, Item Response Theory, Item Calibration, and Proficiency Estimation. D. Thissen, R.J. Mislevy, Testing Algorithms. N.J. Dorans, Scaling and Equating. D. Thissen, Reliability and Measurement Precision. L. Steinberg, D. Thissen, H. Wainer, Validity. H. Wainer, N.J. Dorans, B.F. Green, R.J. Mislevy, L. Steinberg, D. Thissen, Future Challenges. H. Wainer, D. Eignor, Caveats, Pitfalls, and Unexpected Consequences of Implementing Large-Scale Computerized Testing.